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Kidz, I'm here to give you some harsh news. I was part of this blog before the horserace, I expect to be part of it long afterwards. Lambert is my Brother, and no matter what he says or does, he has my love, and knows that. Same with the rest of the MCB Sr. Fellows, past or present. But I've been on the phone, a lot, lately with higher ups and people in the know, and it's no more or less than I've been saying: it's not up to "us" anymore, and the people in whose hands it is...well, they won't "let her win." As the Princess, the ahead of the curve evil bitch, the sad, sick Edwards supporter of old, and Deaniac before that, I'm telling you. Nah. Gunna. Happen. It's time to deal.

This is the best blog you'll ever read, and not because of me. But because even as I expect some to jump all over my ass for this post, I'm fairly sure that my "different" opinion will be welcomed, and stimulate some minds. Because you all are the best, all of you, even those I think are wrong and clouded and uncritical and the rest. Unlike the rabble, I know you Listen.

At this point, for a long time now, I haven't cared which one is picked. I still don't. And: I could be wrong, very, very and publically wrong. I've tried, for all these long months, to "believe" something different could happen. I no longer believe it can. I won't bore you with why, except to say that smarter and more in the know people in my life are telling me so. I'm going out on a small limb and trusting them, and as much as I don't like it for feminist reasons (you will never convince me she got a fair shake, even as I know for a fact how she fucked it up herself in some ways too), I'm asking you all to Sober Up, Let Go, and Be Real. It's time.

Go Ahead with the remaining WWTSBQ posts and the like. I'm not offended. I'm annoyed; some of you posting here lately are way below Correntish standards and we've tolerated that, for various reasons. But I'd really like to bring things back up to snuff, which is to say, in and up to Reality World. Even my Divine friends who've been behind her for a long time, have let go. So I ask you, as one who has long argued that a "Black" man will never win the prez race (heh) in this country, what are you going to do when the HrC party is over? It's coming to an end. I know this as one who's thrown many successful parties and knows when it's time to kick out the stumblers. Don't let that be you.

I'd like my balanced blog back, I'm tired of reading about the horserace. Soon, none of what you've put so much effort into will matter. I tried to say this in a "nice" way, months ago, and got ignored. Well, you won't be ignoring me soon. It's over. The moderate, UChicago econ advisor-having, throw the progressive under the bus, guy is going to win. It's not your fault. Don't feel guilty, or sad. As a Deaniac, I'm telling you: I've been there and you can get over it. But, more importantly: you and I both know why it's going to be very rough this fall for BHO. So. It will soon be time to put your $ where your mouth is, and stand up for Kerry, I mean BHO and make a difference. Are you ready? It's time for you to get ready. I'm tellin ya true. In love, and with compassion. Trust me, we've been here before, and this time, I'm really Hoping (heh) we can do better.

But without you, we won't. Are you willing? Or is being Bitter and Right more important to you? Flame away, I can hack it.

and let me stress again: thanks for all your efforts. Most of you here are on the side of Good and Right, and don't think I haven't noticed. FWIW, but more than that. Fighting spirit Always scares the bullies, cronies and cowards. Are you ready to turn that on McShame? I am. Cause he's hardly even that, and is a pathetic, "mature" man who looks so weak and stupid in person, well...let's just go for his jugular now. He needs putting down.

UPDATE: I have to apologize. I sort of started to lose it in the comments last night, and that's all my fault. I'm sorry. Some bullet points:

-I'm not well. Sometimes, it causes me to lose my temper. That's what happens when I'm afraid. I'm sorry and I'll try to control it better.

-Lambert is right. It's up to all of us to make Corrente what it can be. I've just not had the energy to contribute like I used to. I want to, believe me I love writing and arguing and blogging, but it's harder these days, for a lot of reasons.

-I've lost friends over this horserace, and that makes me sad and angry. I don't want to lose any more.

-My motto in politics: Everyone fights; no one quits. If you do, I'll shoot you myself. Heh, OK, that's not really my motto, but I'm getting more and more frustrated with people who want to "fight" over things that don't make any difference. I believe that this horserace crap has really hurt the blogosphere, and taken away from the power we were "growing." Again, that makes me sad and frustrated.

-On a similar note, I think it's a Sign, that this blog has finally made the cut, and gotten the attention of Mrs. $175m, 6 years of free PR, married to the most popular Dem alive, former front runner. Doesn't that tell you something, that now she's finally reached out to us all? It tells me: desperation. Believe me, some folks couldn't be bothered with us, back when it could've made a difference. This blog was Toxic, and I was proud of that, in the way that contempt for people who won't listen to reason makes one proud.

-This isn't about me. It's about you, and Lambert, and the rest of the fellows. And you. HRC, just like BHO, isn't going to be there for us all When It Matters. Not that she doesn't care (I don't think he does), indeed, I perceive underneath it all a caring, liberal woman of great moment. If she could be Queen of the World, a lot of shit I don't like would get changed, stat. But that's not going to happen. More importantly, there's literally nothing she, or anyone, can do to fix the Shit That's Coming. And it's coming. That is really what I'm trying to hammer home here. Is your support for HRC all these long and painful months going to put gas in your tank, get you a job, or give you health care? No. But here's the thing, the original thing that made me fall in love with the blogosphere in the first place:

We can help each other. I'll talk about that more, in future posts. Because again, It's Time.

-I'm very proud of HRC not giving up. Let me stress that. Fuck the SCLM, you Go Grrl! Don't quit. I'm just trying to speak of the future, and what comes after. You blew it with your war vote, and you should've run in 04, when that choice could've helped you. Just sayin.

-Rather than get angry, as I woke up and headed towards, let me back down and remind everyone: this year is the year to truly and significantly Elect More and Better Democrats. Really, our chances are pretty good. Also, BHO isn't going to be able to control his hoardes. They are way more liberal and progressive than he is, and it'll be funny/sad/amusing to see him come back to them, hat in hand, when his moderate and Republican and warmonger and UChicago friends drop him like a hot plate. Assuming he can beat McStain. Which I'm not at all sure he can.

-Corrente means a lot to me. Can you all, esp you newer people, please try a little harder, in terms of quality, diversity, tone and tenor? This is a special place, and I won't give up on it until I'm dead. I'm showing you all, publically, what Loyalty is all about. I'll tell you true: I've had Offers. From "A List" blogs, from backroom insider types, from People with Power; if I'd been willing to leave/slam publically/detach myself from this place, things could've happened for me, things a lot of bloggers want. I didn't take up any of those offers for a reason, and although that may prove a "stupid" choice, I'm not sorry. I'm going to fight to keep this place the unique, amazing, forward looking, ahead of the curve, honest people's blog it's always been. Are you with me?

-Propaganda works. I've seen it here, all over the blogosphere, across Amurka. It's long past time for the blogging community to realize, the SCLM is designed to make you think and talk and (not) act about this and not that. Blogging is like teevee to me; I know when I blog, I'm not really doing all I can to Make a Difference. Sometimes, blogging really does make a difference. But a lot of the time, most of the time, not so much. But we can change that! Still! Even, each and every day. So let's try. My garden posts are political, I suppose they bore and annoy some of you, but they really are meant to lead, and help people accept What's Coming/Already Here.

-Finally, let's all stop beating up on our friends. We Librul Blogging Types are a family. One big, ugly, drunken, beat down, bitchy family. We're all We've Got. I have really and truly hated the way that some of us have turned on each other, over two people who don't waste a moment's thought about us or our lives except when it suits them, politically. Matt Stoller is not your enemy. Chris Bowers can be an ass, but he's not your enemy either. Even GOS, bless him, isn't really so bad. They are wrong sometimes, bullheaded and sucked into the Village Game, like any of us can and would be sometimes. But Booman, the crew at the Agonist, Pam, Glenn, Duncan...jesus krist these are some of the best people I've ever known. Let go of your anger. Embrace unity. Not "Unity," but the real kind. Agree to disagree. Make up, put up, and shut up. Or, scream more loudly about what you really care about and ignore everything I've said. Either way, the only way to get there is together. Or we'll all hang separately.

Thanks so much for the patience and attention. Love me, hate me, don't think about me. But go over to your right and press that little button so Lambert can keep this place going. Thanks.

... when? Just to point out that if that was truly the "more important" than anything else, then you would have been fighting out along that line.

In any case, I welcome your incipient return to an audience double its previous size, if we don't manage to lose them all by insulting the quality of their writing, and a funded server (or at least much better funded).

I publicly folded my tent a couple of weeks back only to find that there were still, IMHO, a few fights worth fighting -- especially the disgraceful display of disinformation that captivated the MSM and the leftysphere this weekend.

I will say that "Let Go" is a message that has so often been foully laid upon those who fight the good fight, that it's not an especially welcome construction.

I can't account for why some loyal progressives are absolutely livid about what's gone down in this campaign, and others are still in the "two good candidates" or "two crappy candidates" mode.

At the end of the day, we all have to trust our lyin' eyes.

Do me a favor, if you would. Watch the entire ten minutes-and-change of this Keith Olbermann clip.

Yes, I know, the usual caveats about turning off the TV. But this is what now passes for mainstream progressive thought. Just please watch for ten minutes, and you'll perhaps understand why some of us feel our reality has been befouled just as bad as it was in the run-up to the Iraq War.

I don't disagree with your conclusion about the conclusion of this campaign, and I know I've disappointed some folks here by making that point.

I know we're fucked. But I also know that something's gone horribly wrong in progressiveland, and that while people are pushing back on it, I think they ought to have a little support. It may be quixotic, but it's just. And there are many worse things than that.

Lost my local guy to Obama last week, he said the same thing, that the bus is pulling out of the station and he didn't want to get left behind. Can't be angry with him, it is his job to know what to do and he's a damn good guy, but still; I was sorry to see him fold.

I have one more moderately rational numbers-based argument for why she ought to be the nominee; hopefully I can still put that up without lowering the standards too much. If I get out of line, you know how to handle it.

Should it actually end up Obama - and August 28 is a long, long ways away - I will do everything I can to help drag his sorry ass over the line; he's going to need all the help he can get, and the alternative is too horrific to contemplate.

vast, i hear ya. like i said, i was never one of Hers. anyway, i'm just talking hard stats, facts, and the ugly truth of the undemocracy we all live in. This Is What I'm Told By Those In Power. i happen to know some of those. i'm trying to share it with you all.

i could be wrong. it'd be funny, and interesting, if i am. but here's what's i was told today: supreme court, or veep, or senate chief. she's negotiating for that, at this point. or so insiders tell me. we'll see if i'm wrong. either way:

i want the old corrente back. stat. step up, yo? newbies, you can stay. but it's time to put out, or shut the fuck up. what else can you do but bitch (heh)?

something substantive, i hope. or, let lambert die. he gave his blog/life to you, and HRC. it's time to pay up.

After what they've done to her public reputation? The Supreme Court? The only reason the DNC would propose such a nomination is to give a clear shot to all those who've been threatening to assassinate her for the past 16 years, before she sets foot in court.

Same with VP. How can Randi Rhodes walk back the accusation that the Clintons have killed people (viz Bartcop for the details, and the mp3), then say we should support her in September? And Pelosi's going to give up her power without doing the same disruptive tactics we've seen in this election, but within the Senate chambers?

I think your sources are doing the equivalent of patting you on the head, trying to soothe Clinton supporters their own version of fairy tales. After the energization of hatred nationally, I wouldn't be surprised if Clinton faces challengers to her Senate seat beginning in January. Too much damage has been done to give her any power worth having.

I am realistic in realizing that the Powers That Be will ensure Obama is the nominee, but I also realize that it guarantees McCain will win the presidency. Obama is too weak a candidate for "us" to make a difference--especially against McCain, a man too easily underestimated by the left.

No matter what the odds (and I don't think the odds are that great, whatever these unnamed "higher ups" say). Rather than flame I'll just point out that if I listened to folks tell me to quit, I wouldn't be a day and a half away from getting my PhD. I'm glad I didn't listen to the naysayers then. I won't listen to them now. Some people are worth ignoring, especially those who don't want to give democracy a chance.

Personally, I think that there are still battles to be fought. And I don't think that the dirt dumped last Friday should have been left unanswered.

But hey, I'm a guest here and if I do bring down the level of writing and analysis,then, fair enough. this place belongs to the people who built it.

"i want the old corrente back. stat. step up, yo? newbies, you can stay. but it’s time to put out, or shut the fuck up. what else can you do but bitch (heh)?"

And I'm certainly not one to overstay my welcome since I do think the level of hysteria and dirt from "the other side" has reached new low and will continue to do so, I make it a matter of principles worth fighting for to strike back. I just won't do it here.

but I can't talk about this anywhere else that I've frequented online. Not the boards I've been part of for years, not at work with friends. They are all for Obama, and saw Clinton as a destructive nuisance in January. I literally had to step away from a lunch conversation because I knew if I said anything, I would be pointed out as unmutual, and life's hard enough.

But I am not sorry for what I believe about this election, and how I responded here to deliberate provocation by legitimate Obama supporters and jobbed-in trolls.

you've done a lot of good stuff, in and out of the horserace. please, stay! i thank you for being here. i really, really do.

sorry, VL. KO just pisses me off. like all the rest of them. i grok your point. he's a teevee creation, and i've never thought otherwise. is he biased against her? of course! and will he be all super-brother-pro-obama in the fall? of course! will it make a fucking difference? fuck no?

you already knew i was going to say this: turn it off. convince your family and friends and neighbors to turn it off. or, die. your choice.

I believe that Obama is unelectable. I'm not going to hang out here bugging you about stuff no one can help. But I'm also not going to hang out with the Democratic Party if they knowingly accept an unelectable nominee.

I don't hear anyone discussing the issues that are lurking out there.

Do your powerful friends have any ideas?

I don't want to drag the place down, so I'll leave know. I just thought I'd share those questions before I go.

Those who seek balance need to add their own weight to the scales, and not seek to silence others.

For me, this primary turned into a justice fight long ago. I am in this 'til the last dog dies.

And if there's something preventing anybody from posting on McCain, I'd like them to explain what it is.

Have at it. Be the change you seek. Do the work. Because that's what I've done. Now there's a funded server and double the readers we used to have. So to those who were absent while that was accomplished and say "I don't recognize my blog," I answer "And?"

Lambert, my view on the world is simple: you can't keep positive reform down forever. Some may seek to prevent dissent, but eventually "this wall" will come down. You can push those seeking positive reform to the smallest cracks and corners of society, but you can't stifle justice indefinitely. We may have to bounce from nook and cranny to nook and cranny, but we will always be there. When dissent is not allowed, rotting is inevitable. The eternal struggle will never end no matter what the oppressors want to make the people think.

The great thing about PB2.0 as I envision it, is that the tyrannical elements soon lose their influence. The internet has increased the speed at which people can congregate which can be used for good or ill. We have yet to master it's potential for good when it comes to politics. But I'll promise you this: we eventually will.

blah, blah, polysyllabic blah (that's a fav teevee quote, look it up) i'm so fucking sick and tired of horserace whining and bitching and race baiting and all the fucking rest of it. and you know what? you whiners have ruined my fucking blog. you. ruined it. fuckers. there, it's late and i'm that fucking angry. but you know what?

what the fuck have any of you done, beyond hold back the oborg? and yes, i agree with you, they are "the oborg." we'll get to that, in 09, and you won't be sorry to have been outside of it. i know this, i've said so, i grok that, etc.

this. isn't. about. him.

this is about the war/occupation. the reality that the SCLM picks our Leaders for us, despite our aims and goals. for krist's sake, i live in MI. did my vote count? was this primary "valid?" do you think it can't happen to you? does anyone here remember dukaukis? kerry? dean? hello, anyone?

...that's my angry side. it gets worse when i drink. lucky for you, i'm trying to Get Sober. want to help? go work for...oh, here's a crazy idea: someone KO never, ever speaks of. you know, those meaningless people in "congress" who fund the fucking war that is fucking taking food out of your fucking grandkids' mouths. ready for that? ready to get out, off your ass, off your computer, and give real and painful time to elect a "more and better" dem in your state? more than one, even? that's what i'm doing, who the fuck cares if it's BHO or HRC or whomever moderate, middle way rethug lite dem we have next year.

gas is 4 fucking dollars a gallon here. it's not even july. wake the fuck up, people. that's really the point of this post, sorry go all nukyular but i tried, and failed to hold the Real Me in on this subject. we got fucked, royally, in MI, and it's happening to the rest of you. wake up and smell it, or die. your choice.

recently in my haste to exit the big orange cheatopia haka. It had been the only politcal blog I read for years.

I only gradually realised that I was only bookmarking or quoting Lambert posts...then I noticed there are other Senior Fellows of the Mighty Corrente Building...so now I see that no dissent may be brooked by one fellow, surely that doesn't mean the others have to fall in line a la dailykos?

And especially as this superduper topsecret inside knowledge of the giant will of the Superdelegate Oneness is without any attributions...

I would bet that just as theres four times as many Clinton voters per delegate (kudos to Axelrod for clever gaming of a stupid system) I would also bet theres many Supers who are likewise horrified by this creepy Orwellian takeover of the Democratic Party.

I don't believe that we as a party are stupid enough to throw away this election.

and when I saw him in action in 2006, working with DeGette to keep polling places open past the deadline due to the total collapse of the Denver election computer system, I knew he'd be the man Salazar isn't. If the wave of Obama can get him into office and turn Colorado blue, then that will be a consolation.

I will work for him, even if I can't mention Obama's name in any positive way until the convention.

If I could have embedded that video, I would have, because it seems a goddamn crying waste of time and energy to link away from TMCB. ITMT, be sure to come back because Lennon is always worth going for.

as well as in those that are flush. if you really mean that crap, fuck off and go away, and don't waste our time anymore. seriously.

disagree with me? go work for HRC. hate me? say so, and why, and with reason and logic. but give up? what a lame bitch you must be, if you wimp out over one fucking post. grow up. or, recognize that those of us who are in this for the Long Haul are real, and we don't need or want you.

Some of you posting here lately are way below Correntish standards and we’ve tolerated that, for various reasons

And as I said:

The ones who write well and can stand the pace will survive; the ones who write badly and are lazy will drop away, like always.

The way to maintain the standards is to moderate the threads and give feedback to posters. If you don't want to invest the time in that, then don't complain about the result--or ask others to invest the time to meet your demands.

Same high-school clique mentality which rules the lives of those in the Village.

Awesome.

hey, brilliant, i've got some news for you.

"high school clique mentality" runs the fucking country. or didn't you notice? i work for the party, for others in the Biz. i've live in DC. i've been on the fucking floor of more "capitols" than most people here ever will be, including this state and the "nation's," how about you? is it fair? is it right? of course, no it isn't. am i arrogant? fuck yeah, i am.

when was the last time you spoke with the senate majority leader? i can tell when i have. recently. and others.

tell me again: i don't know what the fuck i'm talking about. tell me again how Purity and Truth will beat out corruption and money. i'm sure there are some songs. i'm so fucking sick and tired of pie in the sky, we don't have to think abou that, la la la, dems.

as it happens, i too don't think BHO can win in the fall. i'm just like him, i've lived his life. i can't "prove" that to any of you, but it's true. i've also accepted: "maverick" is working. well, hard, whatever. this is the point of this post. are you ready to give up your own, interblogospherical battles that no one cares about? when will you be? people who read the political blogobullshit are like .00006% of the electorate. what about the rest? have you worked with, GOTV'd, funded, etc., any of those? people are dying, starving, motivated for Hope and Change.

obama won't bring us that. not willingly. so. are you ready to give up and die b/c it won't be HRC? or try to do something to make a moderate "black" candidate a true progressive?

trust me, i'm going to get mean on this one. i'm sick and fucking tired of the bitching. people are dying. like, me. so it's time to do something about it, or just be a lame Consumer who makes no difference. but myself: i won't go down without a fight. so now you have one. let's join together and direct it at the Real Enemy: mccentury.

As the nuns in school used to say, "Did you bring enough for everybody?".

And I'm thoroughly unimpressed with your name-dropping.

tell me again: i don’t know what the fuck i’m talking about. tell me again how Purity and Truth will beat out corruption and money. i’m sure there are some songs. i’m so fucking sick and tired of pie in the sky, we don’t have to think abou that, la la la, dems.

Hey, I'm all for holding my nose and keeping my eye on the ball. As a gay man, I've tucked it under for years to vote for folks like Gore, Edwards, and Kerry who were far from perfect, but had the redeeming quality that they were vaguely LIBERAL and had records of service and long-term issues and fights which defined them, and had the economic interests of my people at heart. They sure weren't tort-reforming deregulators. But the Democrats are always several years behind the ball (being so un-chic, not like the kewl kidz in your rolodex) and in 2008 they wanted the perfect candidate ... for 2004. So we have the candidate with less fag and More Jayzus. Fine, I could see myself as hanging with this again until I saw that BO does this all so very, very, very badly. He's a BAD candidate, an upfront caver, and all around carries the stench of mediocrity.

But back to the glbt front - which frankly, should be enough in my book to end this conversation as far as someone like Obama is concerned - on that front and so many others this year over time, Obama has asked the fundamentally nuclear question: "Where the fuck are YOU gonna go?"

Well, now he gets to find out.

The last refuge of a political scoundrel in 2008 is not to wave the flag, but to hold up a giant blue "D", and shout "J'accuse!" at me. But it's this party which has offended and disappointed me, and which is (IMHO) on a fast fast track to solidifying the political center of this country as something barely to the left of Glenn Beck. I will not reward the party elders for this chicanery. Donna B. says it can all be done without me, anyway, so I don't matter.

i bow to that one. yes, things are never the same. sorry to expect that. still, even. Let's Get to Work. you hate me (not really) others hate you (or not). what does that have to do, what can we Do, to stop mccentury?

that's all i'm going to say from now on. hate me, bitch at me, enjoy humiliating me (and why is that important, again?) not you, LB. i know your mind, the truth of you. but for fuck's sake: who is the enemy?

it's time to realize whom that truly is. gnite. and thank you for playing, all. it's time to step up our Game. or, i'm wrong and you should ignore me. my record is public; you choose.

... is to post, post, post -- if you believe that blogging is a worthy endeavor (as I suppose I do).

There is absolutely nothing that prevents you from posting on the "real enemy" and going for the jugular except your own priorities. Fight it out along that line all summer. If the post is brilliant, as it would be, then it will get read and commented upon and blogwhored. Heck, I might even blogwhore it myself for you -- so you don't have to do the work.

it's your choice. not his, not mine, but yours. always and forever. that's why this is a truly Progressive blog.

honestly. i'd rather you all spend all day telling me how i suck and this post is wrong, than for you to go. for him, and his sake, more than any other's. seriously, i mean that. don't go. beat up on me if you need to, but don't go. it's all we have, all he has, in the end and in this SCLM reality. and now, for real, zzzzzz. later, bats.

1. Fighting for the right thing ("marginal is not insignificant") always matters, regardless of outcome. (The latest grotesquerie, the Argus incident, shows that about as vividly as can be.)

2. Our effort matters because, as "resistance historians," the record is straight.

3. Our effort matters because of new relationships created.

4. Our effort matters because of all the other seeds that were planted as we made the effort -- Single Payer among them. Or do you really think this blog is about fucking election outcomes instead of evolving a continuing critique? Yes, the critique is developed as circumstances dictate -- that's not pretty. It's a shame that we can't be doing the critique on more pleasant ground, but there it is.

5. Finally, the effort is worth it to learn something about the nature of politics as practices in the 21st Century in America.

Every sane Hillary supporter came here to get some kind of refuge from the shit storm and the Oborg. Do you really think it was smart to trash them for low quality writing? Because I don't. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to start thinking of how to go forward with what we've got now that's new to make things better? I do.

As for "what are you going to do when the HrC party is over?" I've said before, many times, and I'll say again:

1. If Obama wins, I'll vote for him.*

2. I'll work on policy like Universal Health Care.

3. I'll work on downticket races

4. And now, I'll seriously think about PB2.0, to make sure that what happened this time never happens again (might even be #2 on the list).

But until the nomination is decided, I really must continue to do what I conceive to be my duty. Friends don't ask friends to do otherwise. Eh?

NOTE * Modulo some wild and incredible real alternative, like the NWP, and not, for pity's sake, Nader; that is one of the things that the [ ] ????? now in my sig means. And there's nothing I like less than making Obama supporters feel uncomfortable, so the question of working for him doesn't arise.

UPDATE And your friends would never lie to you. Right? Not even as part of the usual WWTSBQ wankfest that occurs, as regularly as the sun rises, before Hillary wins another election? Frankly, I hope she finds a way that they decide it's better to "let" her than not.

I'm convinced that all the VP/Unity Ticket talk is purely designed to get HRC hardcores to spend a few minutes "having a conversation with themselves", visualizing walking into a voting booth and pulling the lever for him, or to at least acclimate one's self to complying with HRC's anticipated campaign-season pleas to vote D, whoever is at the top of the ticket.

Been there, done that, doesn't work for me.

But I've lost no sleep worrying that HRC is stupid enough to believe sweet lies and promises about the SCOTUS or governorships.

but I find this all a little strange a week before the DNC meets to make a determination about FL/MI. Then 3 more primaries happen. Then 2 months until the convention. Why decide it's over now?

There are so many ways it might not be over before the convention. Don't count on the fact that Obama won't implode. There are plenty of skeletons fighting to fall out of his closet. O and his wife continue to say and do stupid things. And if nothing else, 2 months is a long time for SD's to second guess themselves and think about whether they want to win or throw Clinton under the bus, because those are the only 2 choices.

the cats are helping me type here, so i managed to not finish my other reply before clicking on the wrong button, but i take issue with this: Soon, none of what you’ve put so much effort into will matter.

argh! i alternate between wanting to bring you a nice warm cup of lavender chamomile tea and some oatmeal cookies fresh out of the oven, and wanting to hit you upside the head with a 2x4 for raining on my parade.

of course it all matters.

critiquing the missing media critique.

calling out sexism and misogyny.

pushing the overton window.

exposing yet more flaws in the electoral system.

pointing out just how far left obama is not because once he's stacked up against mccain he's going to look like a raging pinko commie librul.

plus, i just plain have got problems with people whispering in my ear [or shouting, cf keith olbermann] that they know better than me and i should just step aside, sweetie, and let them take over.

double plus, my 80-year-old lifelong-political-activist mom has a chance to vote for a woman president and my 80-year-old lifelong-political-activist dad has a chance to vote for a black president. they are both thrilled about this, and significant portion of the electorate agrees with them. clearly, the two candidates should just suck it up, put their egos aside, and agree to be co-presidents.

oh, and i'm not going to advocate for the assassination of any pundits, but couldn't we just put duck tape across all their mouths until june 4?

CD, if they are talking to you, I hope they are listening to you and what transpires on this blog you call home. I apologize in advance for the length of this comment.

I pretty much felt after Wisconsin that Hillary wouldn't win and I cursed the day. Regardless, I still give money to her campaign (as recently as today) and I will continue to support her until the day she says she is done. So there OFB, bleh!

I came here because the other blogs I had read every day for several years became toxic to everything I believed in. Fairness, truth, equal treatment of people regardless of race, gender, orientation, universal health care, fighting back vigoursly against the crimes of Republicans because it was the moral thing to do rather than the partisan thing to do. None of those things seemed to be as important to many of those blogs as did humiliating Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton

Barak Obama has made it crystal clear he has no stomach to stand up for any of those principals except if they can help him personally. Likewise his supporters in general feel no reason to fight for any of those principals except if they feel they can elect their candidate.

Why is that? Why should it be rewarded? If abandoning principle in order to win is the prerequisite, what is the compelling reason to vote at all? Is there really a meaningful difference between Coke and Pepsi? Yankees and Red Sox? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? Has anyone heard that before?

I understand that some will find a compelling reason to vote for a black candidate regardless of that persons stances, just for the fact they are black. Likewise I understand some will find it compelling to vote for a woman candidate, or hispanic candidate, or any other kind of "milestone" candidate. I appreciate that desire is going to be stronger in the Dem party than for someone like Colin Powell in the Republican party. Even if that person may even be more qualified to lead such a powerful and complex nation as the United States. But did that part of the equation slip our minds after 8 years of incompetence? Is it possible that what we see as a turning of the tide towards Dems is really a turning of the tide away from rank ineptitude?

So here goes with my background, I supported Kerry full bore, even when he looked like he was down in November, because I thought he was a fighter after years of seeing him talk tough on "the shows" (future note to self), I was wrong and he lost because he wouldn't fight (and Edwards wouldn't fight for him either). I supported Gore because I thought Bradley was a sure loser, Bradley was a loser, but Gore got all squishy and afraid to have Clinton on his side, then picked the odious Lieberman and the less said about that the better for Gore's legacy. I supported Clinton, early on after the Gennifer Flowers thing when I realized this guy was a serious motherfucking fighter, I was right and he won. I supported Dukakis because I thought he was a strong candidate and very sharp on his feet, but he didn't fight and he lost. I supported Mondale and Carter (in 1980), but Carter got kneecapped by his own idiosyncrisities(sp?) (and Ted Kennedy's ego) and Mondale was a sad sack, but since I live in Minnesota, I loved him, just like I loved Paul Wellstone (now there was a Presidential candidate).

And now I support Hillary Rodham Clinton, because she fights for Dem causes, because she fights for Dem voters, because she has the heart of ten prides of lions, and because, she would crush John McCain like a bug in November. I didn't like her last fall, but I have come to respect her like nobody I have ever respected in public life behind Paul Wellstone and I owe it to my family and everything I believe in to fight for her until the bitter end. Believe it.

CD, you may have the ear of some powerful Dem players, and next week I will have a chance to compare it to "powerful Dems" that I know as well. But normally, like you apparently, I traffic in the less lofty reaches, which makes me confident to say that if Obama is nominated, there is no amount of fluffing we peons (who after all couldn't get Clinton nominated in a "fair" fight) will be able to do to get him elected. So what then for us 0.0000006% who have no influence anyway? Talk about something pleasant while Rome burns?

Here is my observation and you can take it or not: all those folks derided as "Reagan Dems" and now dismissed as irrelevant, were neither Reagan Dems, nor irrelevant. They weren't Kerry Dems and they weren't Gore Dems, but they were still Dems: they were Clinton Dems and they will be Clinton Dems when the next Clintonite Dem reaches out to them and says, "I will fight for you and I will fight for what is right.". Until that person comes along, gutless wonders like Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, Carter, and now Obama will have to go fish.

And don't get me started on the misogyny. It is making me look again at my own behavior and how it apparently was lacking in regards to Katherine Harris, Michele Bachmann, and other unsavory characters on the Republican side who were women and deserved to be called out for their policies but not for their make up, behavior towards Bush, etc.. Maybe that should have been the canary in the coal mine for the left blogosphere.

I hope I am still welcome here and as an offering I present here (and one time only) the link to my blog where I blog of everything EXCEPT politics.

That's the way I feel about the Democratic Party but I'm afraid that it ain't gonna happen.

I'm one of the 'newbies' who came to corrente because it was a haven from formerly "progressive blogs" that turned into Obamamania and/or Hillary hater-land.

Lambert (in particular), vastleft, FrenchDoc, katiebird, TonyRz and quite a few other (many of which are "newbies" I've found out tonite) - have all given me hope that there are still sane progressive voices here in the blogosphere. To them I'd like to say that there are many of us who are mainly lurkers who really appreciate what they have to say. Please don't intimidate them or run them off.

All of this shouting about "shut up" and "get with the program!" of fighting our "real enemy" have made me realize that a lot of Democrats are so concerned with getting on with the battle in November that they've forgotten what a democracy is supposed to be about. You've even said that "they" - the powers that be - aren't going to let "her" win. They've picked their nominee and we're stuck with him. Yes, the old party bosses are pushing Mr. "Hope" and "Change". Someone they can control who has a new, pretty face and a compliant, groupie following. I'm sorry but I'm not buying it.

I want my party back but it doesn't want me. Except of course, for my vote, which they are threatening me with Roe v. Wade/Supreme Court appts., etc. Sorry, but I'm still not buying it.

What's been going on here isn't about a "horserace". It's about the future of the Democratic party. Fuck the goddamn GE. This is a subject that ain't going away any time soon. So fucking deal with it.

"Jesus and Obama have something in common; I'd like both of them to please save me from their followers." - Darrow

The real solution is the same as it ever was: The Dems in the SJC need to grow a spine. If they do, the Presidential race has no relevance. And they should anyhow, oh, for reasons like restoring Constitutional government.

The Party will never let Hillary win. So?
Tell me something I didn't know in January. I'm still stunned that she got any votes at all.

Hillary will be forgotten soon enough as an 'also-ran', a few more weeks isn't going to hurt Obama's GE chances any more than they already are today. McCain will still be there.

Most of the Clinton-voters will support Obama in November. Some will drop-off, but there's always some, another few weeks won't change their minds either way.

As for McCain, I can't see anybody stopping anybody else from tackling McCain on this blog, or any other.

For me, I was burned-out or, maybe 'hated-out' months ago, being on the receiving end for so long, I just can't whip up the necessary passion for hostility for McCain, or anybody else for that matter. Sorry, I've twice checked the pantry, closets etc - seems I'm all out of hate, anger and hostility.

Soon as the Convention is over, I'm leaving the dems and joining the Great American Apathy Party.
Its peaceful and quiet in there.

In the meantime, I will continue to support Hillary for as long she chooses.

"I’m annoyed; some of you posting here lately are way below Correntish standards and we’ve tolerated that"
I heard that after drinking the orange koolaid that a difference of opinion is inexcusable. Lemmings. Looks like a McCain Presidency. Another bookmark bites the dust. See you at DailyKos, the main Obama Hub.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I didn't do my work on Florida election law because I thought it would make a difference.
I didn't do my Bush military records stuff because I thought it would make a difference.
I didn't spend hours and hours and hours doing research about the forthcoming Iraq War because I thought it would make a difference.

I do stuff because I hate the idea of making decisions based on fraudulent information.

Oh well, I can always go back to 'self-publishing' my research on my website... but be warned--I'll blogwhore it to death!

As someone who used to visit Corrente on a daily basis, and has of late found less and less reason to do so, I can only echo CD's comment:
"I’d like my balanced blog back, I’m tired of reading about the horserace."
That just about sums it up. Oh, and one other thing: I remember when hicks like me with dialup connections could actually read Corrente without having to wait for all the YouTube videos to load. The writing is what matters, and the thinking behind it.

i hear. i'm thinking about them. i updated to reflect some personal issues that got the better of me in the comments. thanks for understanding and sharing and listening and telling me why i'm wrong. seriously, i really appreciate it and that's why I Won't Quit, and neither should she. again i stress: the only way to get there is together. lambert, you know why i've not been blogging on mccentury so much, or anything. it's because i'm trying to grow some food. it's really that simple, and given how sick i am, there's only so much time in the day. but i'm trying to get back in the Game, this post/trouble/shitstorm is a start.

now, lemme go into my inbox and see what horror i can find to motivate you all to turn the anger on him. again, thanks so much for your love, anger, and fighting spirit.

If you know something, you owe it to the rest of us to spill the beans so we can fight them, not give in to them. And your garden blogging isn't political. It's an excuse.
Actually, of all the correntians, I could see this coming from you from a mile away. It's so much easier to just comply, give in, acquiesce, even if you know that it's wrong for all of us in every conceivable way. I truly am ashamed of you for being so passive.
How many times have we seen the impossible from places all over the world? Remember how the Berlin Wall came down? The storming of the Kremlin? The Orange Movement in the Ukraine? But you would have us surrender without even making a sound before it is all over because some poobah in the DNC or the SCLM says they won't let her win. That makes it sounds like Americans are the lamest people on the planet.
Thanks for the warning Chicago Dyke. I will be sure to avoid any of your posts in te future. You aren't the only person disappointed with the quality of the reading material. Thank God for Lambert, Vastleft and Paul.

I can imagine plenty of Shock Doctrine-style scenarios that will require plenty of it.

Further, reclaiming the sense of taste for corporations is important, and eating home-grown vegetables can help with that project.

Finally, for people with no health insurance, it's something to do that's good for the body and the mind. Just becuase our medical system wants to profit off sick flesh is no reason for me to provide it with my human resource.

remind me of the Texas history I learned as a kid. Specifically, the story of the Alamo.

I'm sure most of you know the story, but the part that is important here is, IMO, the part about William Travis offering each man at the Alamo a chance to get out when it looked like there was no chance to win.

Of the 160-odd men there, waiting for reinforcements, facing Santa Ana's army of 2,200 with its bayonets shining, its field artillery booming and its military band playing No Quarter, only one ran away.

The rest stayed around for the fight, even as they knew the odds were incalculably against them, and that if they lost they would be slaughtered to the very last man.

For those men, the fight wasn't something they were willing to give up despite the odds being so overwhelmingly against them. They gave their lives willingly for the cause of Texas independence, for the right of Texas to determine its own future.

A week or so later the Army of the Republic of Texas met Santa Ana's army again, this time at the battle of San Jacinto. Texas prevailed, and the lives lost at the Alamo were not forgotten but celebrated in the battle-cry of, "Remember the Alamo!"

Thanks for the warning Chicago Dyke. I will be sure to avoid any of your posts in te future. You aren’t the only person disappointed with the quality of the reading material. Thank God for Lambert, Vastleft and Paul.

in the future, if you are going to attack CD in this manner, I'd prefer that you refrain from any reference to me. thank you.

I agree with about half of what CD wrote. I'm not ready to jump on the Unity Pony, but I think her point about the what has happened to Corrente in the last fwo months are important.

When I started posting my research here, I had to blog-whore my ass off to get 1500 reads. My latest piece is over 3800 reads -- and except for a few mentions in other comment sections where I referred to my own data, I didn't blogwhore it at all.

Corrente has evolved from an all purpose blog about a variety of subjects with an emphasis on political and social issues into a "Hillary blog", and I think its the poorer for it. But perhaps even worse, IMHO, is that the "senior fellows" at corrente were all excellent writers and original and insightful observers --- and as Corrente has become more popular and more people are posting, both the quality of the writing, and the originality of thought, has gone downhill.

(Since my writing sucks, I accept a big chunk of the blame for the deterioration of the prose, but at least what I post about is original stuff based on research/analyses of data that no one else is doing).

As for reversion to the mean on the quality of the writing: Sure. I think it nets still nets out positive, and I gave shout-outs to some of our newer writers on the last hamster page. When the primary season goes away, hopefully the good ones will stay.

I think the real issue is that everybody gets front-paged. However, I don't have the power to set that up on a selective basis, and while I have the ability to write the code, I don't have the inclination.

So, the front-paging policy is ON in all cases. Personally, I think that's a good thing, because it encourages new contributors. When something is egregious, it gets de-front-paged on a case by case basis.

What I don't have time to do is monitor all the posts all the time and determine which should be front paged and which should not, because that is the alternative to the current policy. If someone wants to volunteer to take that on for the whole blog, and not just their own posts, well and good. Or if someone wants to make the case for a policy change, well and good.

And maybe when I finally, finally get a minute to do the upgrade, the issue will go away.

A site I used to hang out at, and will probably go back after the horserace is over(great stuff, ACLU GLBT rights, Religious Right, a lot like here, except on the other side of the horserace and I got sick of being the lone canary in the coal mine)(and I'm not leaving here either, I like my new home in the boiler room of the MCB:), has a policy where the contributors can vote on who gets front paged. Every thing else goes on a side bar, and there's a voting widget at the bottom. If it gets enough votes, it goes on the front page.

You fail to understand just where some of us come down on this "unity" label that you are waving. Many of us feel very strongly about our candidate. We have seen her beaten and bloodied yet she continues to take the blows and her voice is ours.

You say you want "your blog" back. I do not see anyone attempting to take it away from you. People are afforded the opportunity provided by these blogs to express themselves and most do in an orderly fashion. Seldom do you see postings sprinkled with the "f" word in every other sentence to illustrate their passion in getting their point across.

Do honestly believe that your call for "unity", in exactly the way you put it into your own words, is going to make us all step back, take a deep breath, and concede? Your level of discourse is frankly demeaning to those of us who still support a candidate whom we feel has the right stuff. We are not the faint hearted supporters who will readily fall into line simply because you and other bloggers along with the DNC tells us what is good for the "party". The "party" has done little for us.

I come to this blog because I enjoy Lambert's musings. He makes his points by researching and lightheartedness.

Your dismissiveness to us who enjoy posting is insulting. However, in the interest of "unity" I have the ability to bypass yours with the same degree of dismissiveness and will not have to contend with posts that suggest I leave because I am not measuring up to your standards. Whatever they are.

That if your goal is more and, more importantly, better Democrats, that telling the people who are trying to press the candidates to become better to sit down, shut up, lie back and think of England is counterproductive.

We don't have to accept the candidates as-is. We can make them better -- make them take a stand, renounce and reject the kind of identity-based sliming that's worked so well for Obama in this race.

This indeed has been difficult, I can appreciate that as well and can appreciate even more that someone without a dog in this fight wants the fighting to end. This isn't a put down but I imagine watching the two 50-50 sides of our (in some case former) party fight must feel like watching any kind of fight between two people you love, parents, siblings, etc..

In my case, my brother and sister-in-law are both avid Obama fans but he is primarily more of a Clinton-hater in full-on CDS. Every once in a while he sends me a link to some particularly odious Clinton put down. To which I usually reply "I hear she eats babies and feeds litters of kittens to alligators, one at a time.", and attach a link to dailyhowler.

Where does this all end? We all know there will be only one "winner" but I hope it ends with some respect from those "winners" for the "losers". Right now, I don't see that but all this talk alternately about "you will come back and vote for us" and also "we don't need you anyway" isn't helping. So please pass that on to your bigshot friends (I don't afford them the respect I do to you).

CD, I like your gardening blogs and personal blogs too. There is a reason I don't blog at my place about politics. There is more to life.

Oh, on a different subject, you are right, there isn't much the next politician is going to be able to do to save us from the coming shitstorm.

I have a duty to do, and I'm doing it (see Alamo above). That doesn't mean I'm not thinking past the nomination.

There's a whole fucking blogosphere going to work on McCain. That angle is covered, if you want to think of it that way.

My mother always said: "Write what only you can write!" So, if gardening is that which only you can write, than do so. It will keep you healthy, might make you happ(y)(ier), and it's going to help the rest of us, too.

Reading back, I think that your "Real Enemy" is What Is To Come. Mine too. If gardening is the best bulwark against the fear, than I suggest you focus on that. And if you want to deal with, say, fascism through a metaphor of rhizomic proliferation, say, then by all means do so.

NOTE Daily gardening tips are a well-known genre. They are very easy to write! I'll make a book out of them....

you know the party is over when they start deleting opposing voices. I remember when I first got banned over at C&L for daring to criticize Keith Olbermann. But from Corrente? Another blog that had promise now bites the dust. What a shame

I think personaly calling out posters the way KOS and DU do, pretty much shows where you are coming from. I wouldn't worry, I'm sure many people have left and will continue to leave. That way YOU can have YOUR blog back. Just so that your delicate sensibilities are not offended further, perhaps you should stick to a private blog where you can just talk and not have to listen.
Huggsies
Joebasic
Recovered DU member

I'm probably the newest newbie here, and want to say something about what good it does to read and write in a "lost cause".

What is the point, my father asks me, of spending time reading the opinions of those who just think like you?

And I think back to before the "left blogosphere" when I literally felt hopelessly isolated as a political lefty. The important word there is (agh) hope. Without it I had become apathetic, not even bothering to read about politics, let alone get up off my butt, inform myself, write letters, make phone calls, contribute money, knock on doors, etc. etc.

So, Correntians (and obviously I mean CD too!), don't think "none of what you’ve put so much effort into will matter" -- it's not so! I read here for many months before daring to write here - and long long before writing here I stood up and started to fight, in the "real world", in part because reading what you wrote clarified my mind and strengthened my will. And, no, it doesn't negate all that, that in this particular campaign my side is almost surely going to lose.

But this Kumbaya call in your update has, for me, the exact opposite of the presumably desired effect:

-Finally, let’s all stop beating up on our friends. We Librul Blogging Types are a family. One big, ugly, drunken, beat down, bitchy family. We’re all We’ve Got. I have really and truly hated the way that some of us have turned on each other, over two people who don’t waste a moment’s thought about us or our lives except when it suits them, politically. Matt Stoller is not your enemy. Chris Bowers can be an ass, but he’s not your enemy either. Even GOS, bless him, isn’t really so bad. They are wrong sometimes, bullheaded and sucked into the Village Game, like any of us can and would be sometimes. But Booman, the crew at the Agonist, Pam, Glenn, Duncan…jesus krist these are some of the best people I’ve ever known. Let go of your anger. Embrace unity. Not “Unity,” but the real kind. Agree to disagree. Make up, put up, and shut up. Or, scream more loudly about what you really care about and ignore everything I’ve said. Either way, the only way to get there is together. Or we’ll all hang separately.

We didn't start this fire. We saw some real shit, and we commented on it, just as other bloggers do on their sites.

But gradually, no opinion that wasn't pro-Obama and anti-Hillary was tolerated. Outright misogyny was fine, outright race-baiting was fine, outright lying was fine, as long as the POV was Obama si and Hillary no.

Well, Obama-perfect / Hillary-sux didn't jibe with what we saw going down on the campaign trail.

So, we wrote about what we saw was right with Hillary and wrong with Obama.

Back in the old days, the internets had forums like DailyKos and DU where liberals of all stripes could speak their peace.

To describe what happens when a Hillary supporter or Obama skeptic enters those sites would require a first-degree violation of Godwin's Law.

We became part of a small group of bloggers who departed from the groupthink, and we've become hated by some over it. Lambert has often and aptly cited FDR: "I welcome their hate."

But, really, we don't welcome the fratboy joinerism and all-but-enforced acquiescence. The hatefulness that's made divergence from "unity" grounds for being voted off the island.

That was not our plan or our M.O., it was theirs. And I'm unapologetic for raising a fuss about it.

Really, we were previously held together by the pressure of a world gone mad. Now that power is within our grasp (well, not really, as CD observed, the village, while adapting, isn't going anywhere) it is inevitable that the old blogosphere begin to crack apart.

I wish Leah, xan, and xenophon would come back and post.

the new Corrente has a lot more readers, but I liked the old Corrente better. But who am I to talk, as a back bencher here at the Mighty Corrente Building.

All this carping about how we've changed, when we've merely remained one of the few outlets where some bloggers don't eat and spew lies about Hillary and dare vent some skepticism about Obama. How dare we!

Did we turn Kos and DU into one-sided hate fests where HRC supporters dare not enter?

Did we foul the nest on almost every leading lefty site's comments pages, so they'd fill with entries describing (sans documentation) the Democrat whom half the country supports as a deranged racist bent on destroying the party? Did we start using the C-word when we disagreed with Digby?

Did we ever, ever try to discourage our fellow Correntians who aren't yea-Hillary / nay-Obama from posting or tell them to stifle themselves when they disagreed with us?

Nobody likes to see a mellow harshed, when you get right down to it. We should have just shut the fuck up, except for singing "Kumbaya."

The old blogosphere is gone, alright.

Was it this little C-list place, out of step with the new mainstream, that did it in? My, how powerful we've become!

Comments are deleted. I deleted yours because I know some the personal circumstances involved here, and your comment could have been hurtful on a personal level. Feel free to re-submit while keeping an analytical. And don't yammer about censorship because I don't have time for yammering today.

I enjoy reading CD's thoughts, even when I don't agree with them. But I personally think she misses a major question in contemplating what happens when all this is over and we decide where do we go from here. Given the type of tactics employed by (or at least tacitly endorsed by) the Obama campaign to destroy the Clintons, how can we as progressives claim the moral high ground anymore? I deplore the typical tactics of Republicans, but at some level can understand employing them when there may be deep ideological principles at stake. We seem to be ready to do quite a job on McCain who just four years ago Kerry was ready to ask to be our VP. Some of the language in CD's post could be seen as going a little too far. "McShame", or "putting down" for example. I disagree with the man's policies, and feel they should be attacked to the hilt; but to make this personal like that crosses a line that I would hope we would rather not approach. I am already dreading reading the first comment to tastelessly reference McCain's time as a POW in someway. I hope we are better than that. I am starting to worry that we aren't though. We have seen this type of attack used against a fellow Democrat where there is virtually no ideological differences. Defeat is not impossible to handle if you know that you stuck to your principles and you refused to compromise on what truly matters. While I do believe that there are causes so important that sometimes you have to make compromises and do things you would rather not do to promote them, my fear is that at the end of all this we will have compromised our principles for nothing because there is a very real chance we might lose anyway. This time we won't have our moral superiority to assuage us of that grief. That may be harder to live with than even the last eight years have been.

I meant no disrespect to you too. I understand you have blog loyalty.
Nevertheless, I am sticking by everything else I said. This is a real disappointment and it untrfrees with your message.
Come together at The Confluence

1) from my perspective, your post and your comments amount to no more than this:

"i'm neutral in all this, really i am, (but i favor barack obama)."

"i want the rest of your to quit writing about senator clinton's political efforts and write about what we used to write about."

i have seen this argument used over and over again in this campaign season.

2) the language of your posts (plural) is extremely angry, occasionally violent. i sense it would be unkind to go further

3) fighting for what you believe in is a key measure of individuality (vs. social unity, e.g., "all for the family").

i am proud that i fight for senator clinton.

i will fight for her until august 2x, 2008.

if senator obama wins the nomination, i will fight AGAINST his campaign organization and against the democratic party that supported him until november, 2008.

no retreat

and

no surrender.

do i need to list from history rebels who didn't agree that we should all hold hands and sing kumbaaya? shall we start with sam adams, ben franklin, thomas jefferrson, et al.?

do you recall the name for supporters of the crown during the colonial unrest - tories.

4) i do not regard the actions of senator obama's campaing as acceptable behavior in a democratic campaign. if we are going to have david axelrod in the white house, we might just as well have karl rove back.

i do NOT regard the behavior of the corporate media or the behavior of much of the weblog media as honest, informative, or humane.

5) "...let’s all stop beating up on our friends."
good advice, cd; follow it and you'll have more friends.

... I'm using FF and it seems to have on built in -- at least dotted red lines appear under my typos (my spelling is perfect, it's my typing that is the problem). What do you mean, "decent"?

As far as:

“i want the rest of your to quit writing about senator clinton’s political efforts and write about what we used to write about.”

i have seen this argument used over and over again in this campaign season.

I see I'm not the only one. Good. And when it's pointed out that this suggestion involves either (a) telling friends to stifle themselves and that (b) another approach would be for them to invest their time -- as opposed to yours -- in writing what they want to have written, the result is generally *** crickets ***. I can't tell you how frustrating that is, but there we are.

A new built-in spell checker enables users to quickly check the spelling of text entered into Web forms...without having to use a separate application.

When a word is misspelled, it will be "underlined" [less "-lined," more "-dotted"] in red. Pass your cursor over the word & right-click, where the top of the drop-down menu will offer [among other things] the correct spelling[s] for you to choose.

It's perfect about 95% of the time, for me on Windows XP, but I don't know about Mac stuff.

when i use ie, i use spell checker, which vacuums up every one of my typos (or failure to capitalize), of which there are dozens in each comment.

i have recently begun using firefox in protest of microsoft and corporate indenturement in general.

i know about the red lines in mozilla. they do indeed show up automatically and they do offer me a drop down pane with a correction, but for some reason mozilla does not recognize every typo/mispelling.

on any comment, i have tried "removing" and then "replacing" mozilla's redline spell checker (by clicking in the drop down pane), but that does not seem to help. some errors still do not get picked up.

guess i'll have to just use moz more, or keep looking on the internet for an add-in.

Corrente has become a must-read stop for me, precisely because it has been one of the last bastions of sanity online. There are few other places I can go. I came over as a VastLeft fan, heh, and stayed. And, Chicago Dyke, I must gently suggest that if a string of bullying accusations constitute the good ol' days of high-level content, I prefer the new Corrente. I agree with Lambert's philosophy: if the content is good, it speaks for itself.

I think that Corrente is one of the very, very few places grappling with the genuine underlying issues: what the hell happened here? How do we prevent it from happening again? Can we? Where do we go from here? How do we maintain a voice and work for UHC, progressive policies, a media that has some relationship to reality, a fair electoral process? PB2.0 is key, and will help shape various and admittedly pluralistic strategies from here on out.

I agree with Darrow -- what's going on here is about more than a "horserace" and it's about more than this GE.

And don’t get me started on the misogyny. It is making me look again at my own behavior and how it apparently was lacking in regards to Katherine Harris, Michele Bachmann, and other unsavory characters on the Republican side who were women and deserved to be called out for their policies but not for their make up, behavior towards Bush, etc.. Maybe that should have been the canary in the coal mine for the left blogosphere.

Thanks for that thought Herb. Thanks for making me reflect back on my past behavior so that I make the changes in myself that are needed.

Herb the Verb wrote this:
I came here because the other blogs I had read every day for several years became toxic to everything I believed in. Fairness, truth, equal treatment of people regardless of race, gender, orientation, universal health care, fighting back vigoursly against the crimes of Republicans because it was the moral thing to do rather than the partisan thing to do. None of those things seemed to be as important to many of those blogs as did humiliating Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton

Barak Obama has made it crystal clear he has no stomach to stand up for any of those principals except if they can help him personally. Likewise his supporters in general feel no reason to fight for any of those principals except if they feel they can elect their candidate.

Why is that? Why should it be rewarded? If abandoning principle in order to win is the prerequisite, what is the compelling reason to vote at all? Is there really a meaningful difference between Coke and Pepsi? Yankees and Red Sox? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? Has anyone heard that before?

I understand that some will find a compelling reason to vote for a black candidate regardless of that persons stances, just for the fact they are black. Likewise I understand some will find it compelling to vote for a woman candidate, or hispanic candidate, or any other kind of “milestone” candidate. I appreciate that desire is going to be stronger in the Dem party than for someone like Colin Powell in the Republican party. Even if that person may even be more qualified to lead such a powerful and complex nation as the United States. But did that part of the equation slip our minds after 8 years of incompetence? Is it possible that what we see as a turning of the tide towards Dems is really a turning of the tide away from rank ineptitude?

Now let me add ...
I've been here awhile, but I'm not a Founder.
Lambert honored me with a stairwell invite, and I've tried to keep my spot orderly.

I've had to do some thinking because I got whacked upside the head with a clue-by-six the other day. I'm not (damn it, you have to have rain to raise stuff) gardening this year, and I don't appear to be getting any where with the sewing or crochet projects.

I've been doing some reading, and honestly, since the last Thursday I've deliberately NOT been playing in the Hillary-Obama wading pools (the water's all yellow and smells funny).

But there are things that I believe in and stand for and want from the next president of the United States of America, and they don't include more of the last eight years' incompetence, arrogance, tone-deafness, cluelessness, anti-environmentalism, pro-corporationist hijinks; they don't include more anti-woman feeling (CD, I'm a little surprised at you; but you say you're ill, and I know being sick can make it hard to fight anything else), more anti GLBT feeling, more skin-color-based fighting over issues the GOP sets up to divide and conquer those of us who aren't part of that flush, getting-richer 8.74% of the populace.

I don't really give a damn about the blogosphere.
I want my country back.
Yesterday.

Right the hell out of Iraq now. No questions, no bullshit, no stopping for the damn gear. Get the soldiers home.

There's no reason in the world we ought to be on our knees before Exxon-Mobil/BP/Shell/Chevron. None.

There's no reason in the world we ought to be on our knees before stockbrokers and bankers. None.

There's no reason in the world our food ought to be unsafe.

There's no reason in the world our bridges ought to fall down, our roads ought to buckle, our children ought to do without books and attend school in moldy, falling-down buildings. None.

There is NO reason in the world that the people of the Gulf Coast ought to still be struggling with the devastation of hurricanes that hit in the summer of 2005. None.

We need to get off our risk-averse thumbs and get after making it right -- not "the way things ought to be" in Limpbaugh's overused phrase, but right.

The love of money is the root of all evil. The concentration of wealth and its attendant power in the hands of fewer and fewer, with poorer regulation and laxer enforcement every day, is not going to take us out of the economic doldrums; it's not going to get us out of the senseless war in the Middle East; it's not going to fix our bridges or rotate home our shell-shocked troops.

Four more years of the corporatist, "we can't afford ... schools ... health care ... infrastructure ... police on the streets ... justice ... peace" whine that I've become sick to death of in the last eight years is not what I want for, or from, my beloved country.

Summer is here so PLEASE help lambert...

... who still needs buy seeds and soil, especially since "Winter is coming," and pay the bills so he can feed the hamsters that power the wheels that turn the servers at The Mighty Corrente Building. Please, won't you help keep the hamsters shiny and well-fed?

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Kayfabe n. Via WikiPedia: "In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced /ˈkeɪfeɪb/) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true," specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or pre-determined nature. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the realm of the general public. ... Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, angles, and gimmicks, in a manner similar to other forms of fictional entertainment," like electoral politics. Note that just as in professional wrestling, political kayfabe requires a willing suspension of disbelief by the audience/constituents, meaning complicity and/or doublethink. See Obot.

Citibank Plutonomy files

"What could go wrong?
Beyond war, inflation, the end of the technology/productivity wave, and financial collapse, we think the most potent and short-term threat would be societies demanding a more ‘equitable’ share of wealth."

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